


six

by wildflower (bangtrashsyd)



Series: broduce 101 [3]
Category: Produce 101 (TV)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-06-01
Updated: 2017-06-01
Packaged: 2018-11-07 15:51:25
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,977
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11062200
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bangtrashsyd/pseuds/wildflower
Summary: Six reasons why Daniel trusts Jonghyun, six events that made him admire him, and the time Jonghyun gains Daniel's absolute loyalty.





	six

**Author's Note:**

> I'm in this super bad writer's block rn :-( I think it's because of the elimination episode and also SISTAR'S disbandment fml write me comments pls

"I think you would be a good fit for leader." Seongwoo says, and Daniel looks up to catch Jonghyun's expression.

He looks like he's thinking a million miles a minute, and Daniel laces his fingers together while they wait for his acknowledgement. Daniel knows better to object when half the members in this group are older than he is, and knows not nearly enough about his team members to make a suggestion. Minhyun places a hand on Jonghyun's arm, and the smaller flinches slightly, covering it up by rolling his shoulders back.

Daniel would not have seen it if he hadn't been looking at the tightness around Jonghyun forced smile and the fearful look in his eyes. He recognised that look, of course. He saw it in the mirror every morning.

"That's our opinion." Minhyun says, and Jonghyun opens his mouth seemingly to rebut. "Now we're asking for yours."

Daniel watches Jonghyun's jaw click closed, and he winces at the responsibility the other must feel. 

"I'm okay with it." Jonghyun says finally, and Daniel looks at him with a little more respect. "I'll do it if I have to."

Even as Jaehwan pats the sticker on his chest, Jonghyun looks torn, and Daniel worries.

 

"Start from this side. Look." Jonghyun calls, and Daniel turns his head to observe if he's on the right track. He is, and he sighs in relief, going back to try the footwork again. He overbalances again at the last moment, swinging out his hands to regain his balance. He turns to gaze at his hands, trying to snap his fingers. The lack of clear sound makes him exhale in irritation, and he nearly backhands Jonghyun when the older approaches him.

"It's okay." Jonghyun waves off his apology, laughing. His eyes are crinkled up in the corners, and Daniel looks down at his feet. "You need help? It's okay if you can't snap your fingers, Minhyun and Hyunbin can't either."

"Oh." Daniel says. "I keep overbalancing. Can you help, hyung?"

"Hm." Jonghyun says, eyes sharp suddenly. "Let me see."

Daniel turns on the music, trying out the footwork again at the chorus. As expected he trips over himself at the last point, and Jonghyun catches him before he can lunge to the floor. He rights himself, the blush on his cheeks spreading up to his ears.

"Tiptoe." Jonghyun directs, dropping to one knee. Using his right hand, he taps Daniel's calves. "Tense this up. Feel steadier?"

"Yeah." Daniel says in wonder, leaning back and forth on the tips of his toes. 

"You need to counter the lack of stability on your toes with your muscles, see?" Jonghyun straightens up, giving him a friendly smile. 

"Thanks, hyung." He says in gratefulness, dropping down on his heels.

"Anytime, Dan." The nickname rolls off Jonghyun's lips with familiarity, and Daniel smiles on instinct.

 

"Hey, _hyung."_ A hand settles uncomfortably hard on his shoulder and he turns around to face Minho.

"Hi." Daniel says, shifting. Minho smiles, teeth sharp.

"You're a rapper, right?" Minho questions, and Daniel nods.

"Are you going to write a rap? There isn't any rap parts in the song." The boy finally lifts his hand of his shoulder and crosses his arms.

"Uh, Jonghyun-hyung, Hyunbin-ie and I are just going to sing." Daniel blurts out, feeling strangely intimidated by the younger boy. At his reply, the other's expression twists into one of disgust. Flinching away from him, Daniel tries to back off, but Minho just steps closer to him.

"You're a rapper and you're going to  _sing?"_ Minho sounds disappointed for some reason, and Daniel can't figure out why. He's always been proud of the fact that he was both a passable singer and rapper. "Nevermind. You can write a rap, yes?"

"I can, but..."  _Why would I want to?_

The door creaks open.

"Dan, everyone's looking-" Jonghyun stops in his tracks as he eyes Daniel's uncomfortable expression and the intense look in Minho's eyes. His voice sharpens to measured steel. "What's going on?"

"Nothing." Minho breezes it over, and Daniel gawks at the wary expression in his eyes. He retreats, leaving Jonghyun and Daniel staring after him.

"Did he do something?" Jonghyun asks distractedly, glaring holes into the back of Minho's hoodie.

"I'm good, hyung." Daniel smooths over the incident quickly, not wanting conflict.

"That's good." Jonghyun says, turning back to him. His voice softens and his eyes turn from black to chocolate brown. "If he did, I would tear him apart."

 

"Who's the leader for Group 2?" Trainer Kwon asks, and Jonghyun raises his hand. Daniel keeps his eyes on his reflection in the mirror.

"Is everyone okay with the leader?" Trainer Kwon calls, flipping through his clipboard.

"Yes." Daniel times his reply perfectly with the others.

"You sure?" Trainer Kwon checks, and the resounding 'yes' makes Daniel laugh. Their response lacks hesitation, and Jonghyun whispers 'that's a relief'. The quip soothes Daniel's nerves for some strange reason. Team 1 is evaluated first, then Team 2. They arrange themselves in the temporary arrangement, looking to Jonghyun for approval. Trainer Kwon asks Jonghyun something softly, and Jonghyun nods. Once he gives the 'OK' sign, the music plays and Daniel dances to the song ingrained in his head after two entire days of practicing.

At the chorus, he's right behind Hyunbin, which means he sees every single mistake the boy makes. Wincing, he looks away from him so he won't be distracted. The song ends, and they move over to the side. Daniel sees Hyubin's face scrunch up in fear, and Jonghyun places a hand firmly on the youngest's shoulder.

"Jonghyun-ah, why is there someone in the team that doesn't know the choreography?" Trainer Kwon snaps, the softness of his voice replaced by irritation. 

"I'm sorry, it's because I didn't do my job well." Jonghyun accepts the blame without pause, and Daniel's head snaps to look at him. Everyone in the room knows it's not Jonghyun's fault. Resisting the urge to look at Hyunbin, Daniel returns his gaze to his feet. Trainer Kwon looks as confused and stunned as he feels, and after a long pause, he calls Jaehwan and Hyunbin out for a comparison.

When the two of them finish, Daniel can see why. Even though Jaehwan is not a bad dancer, he is the second worst in the team, but he manages to hold his own. Hyunbin, however, is atrocious. His legs seem stuck and his joints unused. His arms are worse, lifted in the air with seemingly no sense of purpose. 

"Jaehwan is an  _individual_ trainee and he's so much better than you." Trainer Kwon throws out pieces of criticism at the boy. "Hyunbin-ah, what are you telling me?"

Hyunbin refuses to answer, and something ugly rears up in Daniel at the attitude.

"Stand up, Jonghyun." Trainer Kwon turns his frustration on Jonghyun, and Daniel's mouth opens to defend him. Jonghyun stands, placing his hands behind his back and standing straight. 

"You call this practice?" Their trainer demands, and Jonghyun apologises again. Daniel stares at Hyunbin, and their youngest's mouth opens. For one moment, Daniel thinks that he's going to shoulder the blame. But his mouth snaps shut, and Daniel nearly rolls his eyes. Trainer Kwon rebukes Hyunbin for a while more, but it looks like Jonghyun's the one fielding the blows. Lesson ends, and Hyunbin darts from the room like a loose arrow.

Daniel tries to follow after him, but Jonghyun stops him.

"He's humiliated." Jonghyun says simply. "Let him cool down."

They practice for an hour till late at night, and Daniel coughs, sitting down. The next cough comes off as a hacking cough, and Jonghyun rushes over with a hand over his shoulder and a new waterbottle in his left hand.

When Hyunbin comes back, he does it quietly, sneaking into place. He dances with a newfound passion, channeling his emotion into his dancing. 

"I'm sorry." Hyunbin tells him quietly. Daniel's anger softens a little, and he nods sharply.

He expects Jonghyun to blow up at Hyunbin, but he just smiles again, pats Hyunbin's arm and says a word of encouragement.

 

A day passes, and Hyunbin starts ducking out of practice every other hour again. 

"Where's he going?" Daniel snaps slightly, and Jonghyun turns to him with a slightly surprised expression. Jonghyun's gaze then lands on Minhyun, who's standing a little away from them and perfectly out of range of the little monitoring camera the staff had attached to the wall. A grave look passes between them, and then he's nodding and his mouth opens.

"Hyunbin-ah." The greeting is warm, but his tone isn't. In fact, Jonghyun's voice turns to ice, and it sends chills down Daniel's spine. "Did I ask you to rest?"

I'm sorry." Hyunbin says, trotting back into the room. Daniel gets to his feet, balancing his weight evenly between his feet. He sees the spark of irritation in Jonghyun's eyes at long last, and he braces himself.

"Why won't you get your act together?" Jonghyun ponders out loud, getting to his feet. "My voice is raised already, isn't it?"

Daniel bites his lip, but Hyunbin continues playing with his cuticles. Jonghyun looks into the mirror, and his voice goes even higher.

"I've been putting up with this, but it's going too far." He warns chillingly, and Daniel vows to never cross Kim Jonghyun. "I don't know what  _you_ are thinking, but if  _I_ don't make it, it's the end of me."

Daniel doesn't see any response from Hyunbin, and Minhyun seems to see it too. The older strides across the room and grabs the camera off its perch. He tenses all over at the older's strange action. Minhyun passes it to Jonghyun and the leader completely dismantles the video camera, removing the battery and flicking off the audio microphone cleverly concealed between the lenses. 

Daniel fidgets slightly, and Seongwoo on the floor beside him has gone frozen, the only motion visible the movement of his chest. Minhyun steps away, cradling the audio microphone in his hands. Jonghyun walks to the computer, placing the video camera on the little desk next to it. 

"Look at me." Jonghyun's voice lowers to a purr, and Daniel shivers. His hand darts to Hyunbin's chin as fast as a viper, but even when Jonghyun is cradling Hyunbin's face he looks  _sad._

 

"Don't worry." Jonghyun coaxes their fidgeting to a minimum as they monitor Team 1's stage. "We all practiced enough, we'll be fine." 

Daniel speaks into his microphone, checking it for the umpteenth time. It still crackles slightly in his ear, and he pulls it out, frowning.

"Hyung, is it just me or does your in-ear crackle a little?" Daniel turns to Jonghyun to check. 

"Huh?" Jonghyun looks stumped. "Let me hear."

With slightly shaking hands, Daniel places his in-ear into Jonghyun's open palm, singing his line into his microphone. Jonghyun's eyes widen and he mutters a quick "damn it" before pulling it out. 

He starts to pluck off his in-ear and microphone set, dropping it back down his dress shirt. Untucking his shirt, he retrieves it, then unclips the battery from his belt. He dumps the whole lot into Daniel's hands.

"Hyung, what are you doing?" Daniel asks, and Seongwoo spares them a look from where he is fighting with his cufflinks.

"Switching our mic sets." Jonghyun bites his tongue slightly as he speaks, pulling out Daniel's microphone set with one quick motion. He puts it on quickly, then smooths the back of his shirt into place. "Turn around."

"Hyung, you can't just use a faulty earpiece-"

"Watch me." Jonghyun's deft fingers travel up the side of his neck, pasting the tape over the microphone to Daniel's cheek. "You trust me, yes?"

"Yes." Daniel says immediately, and he frowns.

"That's my lucky in-ear." Jonghyun taps the one in Daniel's ear. "You'll do well."

"Thanks, hyung."

"Anytime, Dan."

**Author's Note:**

> comment pls I'm super needy today lol talk to me guys


End file.
